It's not about what the monetary figure is. It's about what the monetary figure represents.

Well he's gonna have to change his tune if he really wants to assemble a title team like he talks about. KD and CP3 willingly took less money to do exactly that, and they were on the two best teams in the NBA. Lebron can't take a 5m haircut so that we can keep Randle?

Durant and CP3 had never won anything. They sacrificed dollars to put themselves in the best position possible. Lebron has already won titles. Like Kobe before him, as the NBA's marquee player, he knows it's the franchise's job--not his--to build the best team possible while paying him what he earns. Did you question Kobe's desire to win when he took the full max?

Durant took 10m discount after winning championship and finals MVP

just saying

Yeah, i confused myself there. But I stated earlier that Durant had to take a discount in order for the team to afford both Livingston and Iggy. There was a clear personnel sacrifice there if he demanded the full max.

No he didn't. GSW could have offered Iggy and Livingston the full max if they wanted to. He made a sacrifice to save the owners money.

Yet I was thinking about PG and Randle, and I know they're not brothers or anything, but the stupid Laker fan in me that thinks illegal thoughts like:

What if PG takes 28m (2m under the max) in order to keep Randle's cap hold on the books, and sign Randle to 2m OVER his intended salary. Or 3m, whatever. And THEN, Mintz takes less commission on PG's deal and makes it up thanks to Julius' overpay. Does the NBA govern what an agent's commission is?

Anyone else starting to get the feeling that PG and LBJ to LA is the worst kept secret in the NBA? _________________"This game's in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the lights are out. the eggs are coolin', the butter's gettin' hard and the jello's jigglin'."
- Chick, the One & Only

It all depends on how badly Lebron, PG and our front office want to beat the Warriors and other potential contenders.

The Lakers at the end of the day do not have a bruiser and not many teams have what I would call a small ball killer i.e. a big man capable of punishing a small front line while being able to guard the perimeter. Julius fits the mold.

If it costs the front office 2 first round picks and a second round pick to get rid of Deng, then it is a deal they must make.

"All good things cost a lot," Lacob told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. "We're going to try to sign Klay and Draymond to extensions this summer. They've earned the right to do whatever they want; maybe they want to wait until free agency. I can't control that. But we'll do whatever we can to keep them."

Quote:

"Klay definitely wants to play his whole career in Golden State and the Bay Area—there's no question about that," Mychal Thompson told 95.7 The Game, via NBC Sports Bay Area's Drew Shiller. "He loves it up there ... loves the fans.

"But let's just say that negotiations will probably continue in the summer of '19."

_________________👊 Los Angeles Lakers 👊

New years resolution suggestion: I will try to root for all Lakers players, not just my favorite.